Comments made by beachcomber

As a senior on Medicare, is there any way I can sign up for a dental plan?

I estimate that I would have to spend $5000/year to go to a California dentist so I get my work done in Mexico which brings it down to around $1000/year. However, if I could afford it I would prefer to patronize my local dentist.

By and large, I like the changes and I do think that change is important in every organization.

I have to admit that I probably listen to KPBS half-time via internet . I suspect that the programming available to me online will experience blackouts as a result of more content from the BBC and, presumably, licensing and distribution rights. Maybe I will get classical music?

One thing that I think is a pity is the change in name of "These Days". It is a break in branding that, for me, goes back to the Dan Erwine days. The content may be the same as it was before but the identity is different - more generic and no longer "San Diego".

Although I am strongly positive on BBC programs in general, I have to admit that "World have your say" can become trying because of the poor quality calls from cellphones all over the globe. I get a fair dose of it from my Sirius radio when I am on the road. An everyday diet is just too much.

When I am pottering around the house I will switch over to BBC Radio 4 online when I get tired of listening to PBS. This is particularly true during pledge drives. Don't misunderstand me, I give something at every drive throughout the year but, along with this re-think of the programming, there needs to be a re-think of how to raise money in a much less intrusive way.

It is clear that our current model of widening freeways to reduce traffic congestion does not work. As soon as a new lane is added to the freeway, it becomes congested because it exposes another bottleneck in the system.

Traffic congestion will only be solved when the cost of operating a vehicle on the highway is truly reflected in the cost that the driver must pay. The only highways in Southern California that I see that are not congested are the ones on which a toll is charged.

We effectively noticed this when gasoline prices spiked to around $4.50/gallon a few years ago. Drivers then thought very carefully about the trips that they had to make; they combined various errands into a single journey. The gridlock on our freeways was noticeably less.

If I want to take a bus downtown, I am going to have to put $2 or more in the fare box. If I want to do the same journey in my car, I should have to pay a similar amount to get on the freeway.

Either a smart (time-of-day pricing) toll system or a general increase in the gasoline tax needs to be instituted. An increase in the price of gasoline would have the added advantage of encouraging higher efficiency vehicles and reducing our dependence on oil.